Cate Blanchett Opens Up About Playing a Female Villain in Thor: Ragnarok

Her character is going to be your new favorite Halloween costume.

The upcoming installment of the Thor series, titled Ragnarok, is shaping up to be pretty dark, as it features a character who is literally the Goddess of Death. Actress Cate Blachett will be portraying Hela, the franchise's first female villain.

Incidentally, Cate has some opinions about being Thor's first evil female character. While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, she said, "Can you believe it? Can you believe we’re having this conversation and it’s 2017 and we’re talking about the first female villain? It’s ridiculous. There’s so much untapped potential villainy in women." Which, obviously, refers to the fact that female actresses are multi-faceted artists (just as female characters should be written as multi-faceted individuals), with the ability of tackling complex roles like Hela.

But she noted that getting the chance to play Hela – a monster who has been building her power for millions of years – is "really exciting." Cate added, "I think finally it’s beginning to be acknowledged that women and men want to see a diverse array of characters, and that’s race, gender across the sexual spectrum."

Understandably, Cate is excited to take on such a mysterious and powerful role. Hela has some pretty impressive magical powers, like the ability to create weapons out of her clothing and body. But Cate is looking forward to sharing the human side of Hela as well, explaining that she strives to "give her a journey." She added, "[It's] like how you understand why Loki is as screwed up as he is. Hopefully, there’s that satisfaction in watching Hela."